For the 12th straight year, Iowa Speedway is prepared to host the Verizon IndyCar Series for the Iowa Corn 300 this weekend.
The event has become a staple of the schedule and a favorite among fans, with the high-banked oval known for nonstop, intense racing all around the track. Tony Kanaan, the AJ Foyt Racing driver who won at Iowa in 2010, calls the 0.894-mile oval “one of my favorite tracks of the year” – but not because it’s easy.
“It's a place that keeps you on your toes at all times and, although it's just under a mile long, it makes for an extremely fast and exciting race,” said Kanaan, driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet and one of 22 entrants for the race.
IOWA CORN 300: Entry list
Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter says Iowa Speedway is “a constant challenge, both physically and mentally,” and is grateful he and fellow Ed Carpenter Racing driver Spencer Pigot were among 13 who tested there last week to get a feel for how their cars will handle with the universal aero kit introduced this season.
Scott Dixon takes a 45-point lead into the Iowa Corn 300, where he is among three returning drivers to have competed in all 11 prior races at the Newton, Iowa, facility. One of the greatest Indy car drivers with 43 career wins that rank third all time, Iowa Speedway is one of just two current series tracks where the 37-year-old has raced 10 more times and not been victorious.
"Iowa Speedway is such a tough track for racing Indy cars,” said Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda whose best Iowa finish was third place in 2011 and ‘16. “You have very high G-force loading and there is always a lot of action on this little bullring-style track. You really have to be on your game with traffic and the quick lap times.”
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay owns the most Iowa wins of anyone with three (2012, ’14 and ’15). It’s been a matter of being in the right place at the right time since Hunter-Reay ranks only seventh among drivers racing this weekend in laps led at the track (54).
“We've had lots of success here in the past, winning three times,” said Hunter-Reay, second in points to Dixon and piloting the familiar yellow No. 28 DHL Honda this weekend. “However, with a new car and a completely different aero package, we have our work cut out for us to develop a new setup that will suit this car.
“We're coming off a productive (Iowa) test, so we're looking to keep the momentum we have rolling into the Iowa Corn 300 weekend and bring home another good result for the DHL Honda."
Verizon IndyCar Series action begins Saturday with a one-hour practice at 11:15 a.m. ET that streams live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Single-car qualifying follows at 3:30 p.m. and airs live on NBCSN, with a final 60-minute practice at 6:45 p.m. (RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and the INDYCAR Mobile app).
The 300-lap race airs live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.